Pregnant for the Second Time Around
Pregnant for the Second Time Around
As soon as she slipped out from her car, Evan was already waiting for her in the doorway. He looked down at her without any sign of surprise. Her husband might have called him to inform Evan that she was on her way.
"Eli said you were on your way in here. I guess you two have an argument that you couldn't settle," Evan said.
"Figures. My ever control freak husband. I'll bet he will call you to make sure I arrived safely, or he will throw another fit. Can I come in?"
Evan stepped aside to let her in.
"Your big brother is a jerk," Ririna grimaced.
"Half-brother," Evan corrected her. However, whether he liked it or not, he couldn't deny that even though they'd been fighting for years, they had earned the respect to each other. "You know you can't really blame him. Heck, if Ginny does the same thing, I will be spitting fire on her until she realizes how she made me worry."
Ririna tried not to roll her eyes, but she didn't need another reprimand coming from Evan.
"Where's Ginny?" Ririna asked.
"She was tired. She's still sleeping."
"I'm sorry for going here without notice."
"Nah, don't worry about it. We're family, and we should look out for each other."
Evan's phone rang, and he quickly answered it. He put the call in loudspeaker so Ririna would hear whatever Eli would say to him.
"Hey," Evan said.
"Is she there?" Eli asked over the phone. Ririna bit her lip. She knew he was concerned about her welfare, but why he couldn't understand that he shouldn't try to control her? They were married, and she expected that he somehow would listen to her before trying to make a decision.
"Yes, she's here."
"Make sure to get her some breakfast. She hasn't eaten yet."
"Alright. Just pick your wife when you're ready," Evan disconnected the call before looking at his sister-in-law. If someone had told him years ago that his elder brother was capable of loving someone, he would have died from laughter. Now, knowing about Ririna and Skyler, he was happy that they could bring out the other side of his stoic brother.
In spite of Eli being a cold and arrogant brother to him, he deserved to have a family and love that he'd lost during his childhood.
"Told you." Ririna walked on into the room and looked around her. Evan and Ginny's new home was spacious and had a modern and sophisticated design. Some of Evan's collections were displayed in their living room. Ginny's medicine books were kept and arranged alphabetically on a bookshelf. "I knew he wouldn't be able to resist checking up on me."
"Try to understand him a bit more, Ririna. You know my brother isn't good at expressing his emotions."
"But that doesn't mean he has to treat me like this. I love him. I really do, Evan, but it hurts whenever he tries to control me. Ever since we got married, he has full control over everything. Where we stay, what time we should go, where to go… I don't like this feeling that I'm his puppet that has no say or can't even decline his wishes. He keeps exercising this power over me."
"He's always in control. I know." Evan nodded. Eli's domineering and self-control were the reasons why S&S Enterprise and the Park family were still at the top.
"Sometimes, it feels good to depend on him but not all the time. I need to know that I have the same power and control in our relationship. I know I was wrong when I impulsively decided to come to the Eastern Province last night."
Ririna sat on the couch and sighed. She clasped her hands on her lap and looked down.
"Did you at least try to apologize to him?"
"I did. I said I was sorry and I admitted that I was wrong, but he raised the issue about Han Zhou to try to make me submit unto him."
Evan raised a brow.
"He did?"
"Yes."
There was a laptop on the coffee table. Books and files about S&S's contracts were scattered beside of it. It seemed she arrived when Evan was busy working on these documents.
"What would you like for breakfast?" Evan asked as he strode towards the kitchen to see what was on their fridge.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it. I don't have an appetite to eat anything right now," Ririna remembered how she threw up her dinner last night, and her stomach was empty.
"Eli said I need to feed you. You need to eat something, or else he will grill me."
"Don't worry about it." Ririna groaned. She bent down to read some of his files. "What are you working on? Are you going to check these proposals?"
"No." Evan came back and turned off his laptop before tidying up his mess within the room. Ginny wouldn't like it if she found out he worked overtime again. "I'm just studying those proposals before I go to your husband for the second opinion."
"Oh? I thought you and your father are working together for S&S?" she asked.
"We do, but Eli is the one who made all these arrangements. He still likes to see each proposal before we sign them. It wouldn't hurt to ask him for the second opinion on these matters," Evan muttered before he started on the kitchen again. "I will prepare you a quick and light breakfast."
"Forget about it. I'm not hungry."
"Damn, Ririna. You're so stubborn. I kinda pity Eli for having a hard-headed wife like you."
"Oh, then, you're lucky to have Ginny. At least, she tolerates your instant ramen." Ririna followed him into the kitchen.
"Eli said you need to be fed, and my ramen taste heavenly. Ginny understood that."
"Okay, okay. I got it. Whatever my devil wants, he gets. Now, do you have a wine or beer? Can I have one?"
Evan glared at her. "No alcohol for breakfast."
Ririna seated herself on a stool behind the counter and watched as Evan prepared some breakfast. Ginny arrived and was surprised to see her best friend.
"Ririna. What brings you here?" Ginny asked as she sat beside Ririna and ran her fingers to tame her hair. She blinked when she realized Evan was cooking something that wasn't ramen. Now, that was something new for her.
"Quarrel with her husband," Evan answered for Ririna.
"Oh? What happened now?" Ginny turned her head to Ririna, cupped the side of her face with one hand, and leaned forward to the counter.
"Oh, you know Eli. Always in control." Ririna frowned and said a quick 'thanks' when Evan gave her and Ginny a glass of warm milk. "He will be worried and will turn the city upside down if he didn't know where I'm going."
"You sound like a woman with PMS. By the way, did your cycle go back to normal?" Ginny took a sip from her glass and smiled.
"Now that you mention it. I haven't got my period ever since I woke up from the coma," Ririna replied.
Ginny's eyes widened.
"What? Why didn't you tell me sooner? The medicines should be cleared within your body now."
It was already more than two months since she had woken up. Her cycle should be back to normal after a month. Ririna something very important was missing as she took a bite from the sandwich Evan made for the three of them.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ririna asked.
"It means there could be a side effect from the drugs we used, or you could be pregnant," Ginny said.
"W-what?"
Ririna blinked twice and thought she was losing her mind. Could she be pregnant? The signs and symptoms were indeed showing up after all. It wasn't odd to lose a few things under stress she had been under for several weeks. Ririna let Ginny dragged her from the kitchen to the bathroom. They needed some answers!
They didn't have to delay. Ginny took something from their first aid kit and handed it to Ririna. Ririna looked at the pregnancy test on her hand.
"Do it. You know how to use it. Right? You won't screw up something as simple as this," Ginny told her.
Minutes later…
Ginny went back to the bathroom to check on her best friend.
"Ririna?" she called out, but her friend did not respond. Curious, she opened the door of the bathroom and saw Ririna standing at the sink and staring down without moving a single muscle. Walking up behind Ririna, Ginny peeked down at what her friend was looking at.
"I'm pregnant," Ririna whispered in disbelief. Sure enough, the test was positive with two bright red lines on it. She was pregnant for the second time around.